How to Make a Puree for Cocktails

We’ve talked in the past about some of the various ways that you can incorporate flavor into cocktails – but I realized we haven’t actually talked about Purees yet!

Purees are made with fresh fruit, which makes them a great option for flavoring cocktails. With how easy they are to make, I’m always surprised at how rarely I see them used in craft cocktail bars. How easy are they to make? Check it out!

How to Make Purees for Cocktails:

Pretty easy, right?

Quick Recap:

Basically, purees are fresh fruit that’s been pureed and had sweetener and acid added.

Chop up the fruits into small enough pieces to fit in your blender

Put the fruit in your blender along with simple syrup and lime juice to taste (if you’re not sure how much, puree first and add this later)

Fire up the blender! You’ll want the mixture to be very smooth.

Taste and adjust simple syrup and acid if necessary

Fine strain the puree to remove any lumps and extra fibers

I also like to portion out the purees into containers that are roughly the size of one day’s worth of use. If you’re going through a lot, then just put the puree in whatever container is convenient for you. I like squeezy bottles for this though, as they make the purees extremely quick to use.

Puree Perks

Not convinced? Here are a couple other reasons to consider using Purees in your next cocktail menu:

Since they are made with fresh fruit, they tend to retain the color better – which makes for beautiful drinks

They help to account for the unpredictable nature of fresh fruit. If you receive one batch of strawberries that is sweeter than the next, you can adjust the simple syrup and acid in your puree to compensate – meaning your cocktails will stay consistent even when the fruit is not.

Using Purees can actually cut down on a few steps when you are making the cocktails during service – you can make the puree such that it has all the flavor, sweet and sour that you’ll need

Love Purees but Don’t Have Time to Make Them?

The folks at The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley are offering complimentary samples to bartenders and chefs.

Their purees are a great option if you’re concerned about maintaining consistent acidity & flavor throughout the year, as well as offering time, labor and cost savings for your team.

I’ve used them quite a bit behind the bar and definitely recommend them!

How about you?

Have you used purees in your cocktails? Any favorite fruits to use? Let us know in the comments!

4 Comments

Jack
on August 5, 2014 at 10:43 pm

Hey Chris, on the topic of puree, I wonder what your stance on shelf life is. I choose to ditch the lime, as it doesn’t keep as long as a straight fruit (10 hrs minimum, or over night max). Where as a straight strawberry puree can last up to a week when refrigerated. does lime keep for longer for some reason when mixed in a puree?

Also, I’ve met bartenders (Jim Meehan for one, and you as well it seems) who are absolute about fine straining a puree. What’s the logic behind this? What am i missing by never fine straining? With things like mango I can see it, but for berries?

Sorry for the late reply Jack, and by all means you can leave the lime juice out of the puree. Typically purees are kept frozen most of the time and thaw only enough for one days service (Ideally). My understanding is that adding a small amount of Ascorbic acid to the lime juice will help to minimize oxidation if you decide to go that route.

On the topic of fine straining, I like it as it gives the cocktail a uniform consistency. It removes all the little seeds, pulp and ice chips from the final drink and results in a nice smooth cocktail. It’s all a matter of personal taste, but I like the smooth uniform consistency myself.

Hi Lisa, great question. I personally have never made a lime puree before, but it’s worth a try. I know that there are a few puree companies that have a “mojito puree” in their inventory and you may want to look at their ingredients to see what they have used to make it.

My one hesitation with making a lime puree is that lime juice tends to oxidize fairly quickly, especially when it is heated. I’ve heard if you add a small amount of ascorbic acid to the process, it will help to minimize oxidation in the puree.

Another option is to consider the lime stock that is being created over at Trash Tiki. You may have to adjust the recipe to your liking, but it’s an interesting approach to minimizing waste.